A two-day workshop on how information technology entrepreneurs can build business plans and list their companies in the future regional IT board closed in Amman on Wednesday, February 28. The workshop, which followed a round of talks in December between the stock exchanges of Amman, Dubai and Manama to set up the first regional market for high-tech stocks, was organized by Int@j, the IT association of Jordan, in cooperation with the US-funded AMIR Program.

Russell Diehl, a consultant to the AMIR Program, addressed the process of building a business model and taking a company public, according to an Int@j press statement. “Diehl also discussed how the new regional IT Board will work and how companies can benefit from it,” the statement said.

It added that the workshop emphasized the importance of structuring a business plan to attract potential investors, to market products and services and to outline the overall strategy of financial growth in the future.

Int@j said the seminar was part of its ongoing efforts “to further educate IT companies on the needs of investors, by showing them how to create a professional business plan.” “Business plans are designed by companies to disclose information to potential investors,” it added.

Diehl was quoted as telling participants that, given the continuing growth of international investments in the IT sector, proper business plans will enable Jordanian entrepreneurs and IT companies to demonstrate their ability to address business solutions and attract investors.

The regional IT Board is established to help IT companies achieve listing requirements, attract venture capital funding and target easier exit strategies. The board plans to continue to develop gradually in a defined process that is expected to take one year, during which Int@j and the AMIR Program will continue to assist in providing IT companies with guidance on the development of their businesses to further qualifying for the board, the statement concluded. — ( Jordan Times )